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Harvesting power from the wind and the sun is nothing new. We’ve seen flying wind turbines and solar power plants that aim to provide clean renewable energy. UK-based New Wave Energy has a bolder idea in the works. The company plans to build the first high altitude aerial power plant, using networks of unmanned drones that can harvest energy from multiple sources and transmit it wirelessly to receiving stations on the ground.

The patent-pending technology aims to have drone networks hover in the sky harvesting both solar and wind power, while moving about at low speeds to keep track of the sun. The drones will operate at high altitudes where the winds are more stable and there’s minimal chance of weather patterns or aircraft interfering with them.

“At 50,000 ft (15,000 m) there is very little air traffic and biodiversity, unless you go over the Himalayas,” company director Michael Burdett tells Gizmag. “Implementing a system in these conditions will not obstruct any existing systems.”